


Children of the Night

by mnemosyne23



Series: Werewolf and Vampire Firefly AU [2]
Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Werewolf, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-07
Updated: 2014-01-07
Packaged: 2018-01-07 20:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1123883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemosyne23/pseuds/mnemosyne23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prequel to "Big Bad Wolf."  River spends her first full moon with Jayne.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Children of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely COULD NOT stay out of this universe; I love were!Jayne and vamp!River too much. LOL! As I was writing the original story, I found myself wondering what River and Jayne's first full moon together would have been like. I figured that was a good launch point for a prequel, so voila! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Joss owns everything "Firefly." I just own my terribly warped brain. ^_^

River opened her eyes to darkness. That in itself was unusual, because a vampire knew better than most that there was no such thing as _real_ darkness. Even the darkest night – starless, moonless – had a kind of blue, ambient glow to it.  


  
Squinting, she peered around the pitch black little room; she could feel the walls closing in around her, which was the only way she could tell it was small. Her dead heart started pounding vigorously as she flung her hands out to the side, trying to keep the walls from swallowing her whole. They were so close on either side, she couldn't even extend her elbows all the way. A soft wail of fright tore from her throat as she scrabbled to her feet, only to discover she couldn't stand up completely as her head whacked the low ceiling. She began desperately pounding on the walls, searching for a door. Her sires had kept her in a box; a long black coffin, as befitting a vampire of her station. She could still remember the sound of the hermetic seal sucking into place; could still smell the sweet scent of chloroform that forced her to sleep. And the dark... that all-consuming, drowning _dark_...  


  
When her hands fell on a doorknob she sobbed with relief and twisted it violently. It wouldn't budge. She tried again, desperate tears streaming down her cheeks. Still nothing.  


  
"Help!" she screamed, slamming her slight body against the door. She could make out a thin blue frame of light that outlined the door, and it was like a lighthouse beacon to her terrified brain. She had to get into the light! "HELP! PLEASE! PUPPY! _PUPPY!_ "  


  
With a splintering crash, the door broke free and sent her tumbling into the narrow, dusty corridor of the abandoned plantation. She recognized the area immediately; she was on the third floor, and she'd been locked into the cubbyhole that stretched along underneath the eaves; a narrow, triangular space that would have been used for attic storage once upon a time, but was now just a breeding ground for cobwebs.  


  
Sobbing with fright, River curled into a ball in the middle of the hallway and buried her face in her knees, shaking violently. The rest of the old mansion was silent as the grave, without the benefit of nighttime creatures outside to make some much needed sound. Even the crickets had learned long ago that life wasn't worth one damn in a dozen if you stayed near this particular plantation under a full moon.  


  
"P-Puppy?" she stammered , raising her tear-streaked, puffy face to stare down the hallway. "Puppy?"  


  
There were no windows in the claustrophobic little passage, but she could see moonlight streaming through the open doors that lined the corridor, and knew that it must still be the middle of the night. Her internal chronometer confirmed that, and went so far as to tell her it was shortly after one in the morning. Jayne was still gone then, and probably wouldn't be back for several hours yet, which meant she would have to make do on her own.  


  
Sitting up very slowly, she tried to gain control of her trembling limbs but found it impossible. She had no memory of crawling under the eaves, and the door had been locked from the outside. That meant someone had put her in there; left her there in the dark to drown.  


  
She sniffed the air. It reeked of Jayne.  


  
Choking on another brutal sob, she dragged herself away from the gaping maw of the cubbyhole and pressed her back against the far wall, staring at the splintered door with terrified confusion in her eyes. Why would Puppy lock her under the eaves? What had she done? Had she been bad, and not done what he'd wanted? Her Sires had often used the coffin as punishment when she didn't do as she was told. When they wanted to be particularly harsh, they wouldn't use the chloroform; they'd just leave her screaming in the smothering black.  


  
But Jayne had never made any indication that she needed punishment. She'd only been with him for a little over three weeks, but he seemed to tolerate her presence. Sometimes he could be growly and rude, but he'd been a lone wolf for a long time, so she didn't blame him. If anything, after his initial tirade upon finding her in the alley, and despite all his arguments that he was going to make her scream with fear, all he'd done in their time together was... watch her.  


  
That was all. He'd just watch her. She was trying to coordinate her body's sleeping schedule so it more closely resembled his, with more time spent awake during the daylight and equally more time spent sleeping at night; but it was still a work in progress, and she often found herself dozing off during the day. Those were the times she felt him watching her most vividly of all. There were no beds in the rundown plantation, so she slept like him, curled up on a rug in front of the fire. When she managed to sleep at night, she'd cuddle up against his warm bulk, soaking in his body heat. Usually he shrugged her off or growled at her to leave him be, but he'd been doing that a lot less lately, which she liked. His furry chest kept her hands deliciously warm.  


  
It was when she slept during the day, while he was awake and watchful, that she most noticed his presence. As she dozed on and off, she would often feel his piercing blue eyes staring at her, scoring hot trails into her skin. She was glad she slept curled up, because there was something invasive about his eyes; like he could see right through her clothes, her skin, her bones, and out the other side. Sleeping stretched out was unthinkable; then he'd be able to see _everything_.  


  
Though, truthfully, she'd been uncurling by degrees as she slept for the past several days. His eyes made her feel almost as warm as his fuzzy chest, and she didn't mind getting a little more of that heat if it was offered. It wasn't particularly unpleasant.  


  
 _None_ of that explained why he'd lock her up in a closet under the eaves. Especially not on this night, when his mind was doubtless elsewhere.  


  
Pushing herself up the wall, she stumbled the few steps it took to reach the abandoned master bedroom and dropped to her hands and knees, crawling frantically across the dust-covered floor until she could curl up in the silver halo of moonlight that streamed through the French doors that led out to the rotted balcony. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she basked in the soothing glow, trying to wash away the clinging dark of the eaves closet. It was times like this when she wished she could stand in the sun. The moon was beautiful and serene and one of her best friends in the 'verse, but it gave no heat, and she was always so cold, deep down to her bones.  


  
The house was so quiet, it was unnerving. With that piled on top of her fright from waking up locked in that closet, she was finding it difficult to think clearly. Thinking clearly was always difficult for her, but now she found her brain firing off crazed images jumbled with fractured memories, and it was making her head spin. Whimpering, she buried her fingers in her hair, rocked side to side, and wished Jayne were back. When Jayne was around she had somewhere else to focus her energies, and it was more difficult to get lost in her own head. Sometimes he'd yell at her for staring or chattering too much, but he never did anything to stop her. For being such a grumpy wolf, his bark tended to be worse than his bite. She sensed that he'd been lying to her all those weeks before, when he'd said how much he liked to bite girls. She wondered if he didn't bite girls in general, or if she was a special case. He wasn't the only one with a superhuman sense of smell, and she'd been scenting something different on him for the past couple of weeks. It was darker, richer, more animal. She hadn't been around many animals outside of rats and pigeons, but she'd hovered in alleys behind enough whorehouses to know that smell.  


  
It was lust.  


  
Before she could ponder on that, a bone-chilling howl split the dread silent night. River felt her cool skin prickle into goose flesh as the sound washed over her in waves. "Puppy...," she murmured, raising her head to gaze through the French doors at the black wall of forest that surrounded the old plantation.  


  
The howl seemed to hang in the air like fog. It wrapped around her belly and squeezed her lungs with blinding terror, touching on primal survival instincts that dated back to the first ancestors of humanity. It was a sound that promised slavering jaws and massive paws, and above all else, hunger. Bone deep, belly-clenching _hunger_.  


  
And it was getting closer.  


  
"Oh," River murmured, voice shaking with terror as she curled her legs tighter beneath her chin. "Oh, Puppy..."  


  
She needed to move. She knew that. Jayne was coming home, he was hungry, and he hated vampires. In this state he wouldn't be able to differentiate between her and his next meal. He'd been grudgingly tolerant of her over the past three weeks, but all bets were off when his brain was being controlled by the instinctive drives of the werewolf, not the man. In vampires, lust and hunger were arguably the same thing. If the same held true for werewolves, then the lust she'd felt rolling off him recently ensured that when he got home, he was going to gobble her down alive and screaming.  


  
A fresh howl exploded in the forest, so much closer than the first that it stopped River's breathing and made her jump. She hadn't even felt the tears building in her eyes until now, when the jolt made her blink and sent twin tracks coursing down her cheeks. "No...," she moaned, body starting to rock again. Then, more frantic, "No... no, no, no, NO, **NO!** "  


  
Leaping to her feet, she cast about desperately for somewhere to hide. The doors were rotten and useless. There was no furniture to act as a barrier, no high places she could reach where he couldn't follow. With a heart-clenching sob she realized that was why he'd locked her in the closet. Somewhere dark, somewhere out of the way; somewhere with a locked door that smelled so strongly of himself that he wouldn't be able to smell _her_. A little cubbyhole where she could hide safely and his ravening brain wouldn't _remember_ her.  


  
" _I'm sorry!_ " she whispered to the air, wrapping her arms around herself and shaking violently as she stared, wide-eyed, at the bedroom door. It hung off its hinges and dangled malevolently, revealing the pitch black corridor beyond. " _I didn't KNOW!_ "  


  
The tears kept coming, cold and unbidden, dripping off her chin and splashing on the dusty floor. River trembled, feeling terribly alone and vulnerable as she stood silhouetted in the moonlight, a pitiful figure of shaking white limbs wrapped in a thin cotton shift. She should try and change; lengthen her teeth, sharpen her nails; morph into the calculating creature of death that at least stood a chance against him. But she was just too damn scared.  


  
**BANG!**   


  
The downstairs door opened with a crash, and she screamed. She couldn't help it. She knew she'd just signed her death warrant, but she couldn't stop herself. " _STAY AWAY!_ " she screamed desperately, in a last ditch effort to protect herself. As if he'd listen. She hugged herself tighter and stumbled backward a few steps, deeper into her cocoon of moonlight. " _STAY AWAY FROM ME!_ "  


  
The howl that echoed through the plantation house was like a living thing. It shook dust off the rafters and made the walls creak. River screamed again, and it dissolved into hopeless, gut-wrenching sobs of pure fright. " _N-N-Nooooooooooo!_ " she shrieked. " _DON'T HURT ME! PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!_ "  


  
She heard his heavy paws thumping on the stairs, and her heart stopped. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out cold on the rank, dusty floor.  


  
  
  


\----------------------

  


  
  
  
The soft creak of a floorboard and a huff of breath was the only indication she had that he was there.  


  
River didn't move. She had a feeling that any kind of movement right now, even something small, would be too much. Daring her eyes to open a fraction of an inch, she had to choke down a whimper of fear.  


  
She was peering through a few heavy tendrils of her hair, but she could see Jayne nonetheless. He was lolling in front of the bedroom door, leaning his back against the frame and stretching his legs into the room. The moon had moved since she'd passed out, but it still cast enough light that she could make out his massive silhouette; he was a big man, but he was an even bigger werewolf. The dim light danced on the coarse bristles of hair that covered him head to toe. She felt an involuntary shudder work down her spine at the way his calf muscles twitched.  


  
He shifted suddenly, letting out a groan that was half human yawn, half wolf croon. River watched as he stretched and had to bite her tongue to keep from sobbing when she saw his long white canines glimmer in the hazy moonlight. There was still something mostly human about his face, but it was vaguely elongated, with a jaw that could open impossibly wide. His feet and hands were a perfect mix of paw and appendage: five fingers and five toes, articulated with big, bony joints and ending in claws that could shred their way through a solid oak door, given the desire. The power in his shoulders alone was terrifying, as he spread his arms wide then pulled them in, hunching his back in an all-too-human stretch.  


  
With mounting terror, she watched him roll forward until he was poised on all fours. His back was longer than normal, tapering down from broad, bristling shoulders to a narrow, muscular waist, like a greyhound gone terribly, terribly wrong. It was easy to picture him streaking through the forest on four legs, chasing down any prey stupid enough to try and run. But that was nothing compared to how imposing he would be if he stood tall on two legs. He'd have to duck through doorways and bend his head in low rooms. River wondered if there was even a room that could hold him.  


  
When it became obvious he was going to move towards her, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to keep her limbs from trembling. She had no idea why he hadn't killed her yet – she could smell the hunger billowing off him – but she wasn't going to do anything to tempt him. She was going to lie here on her back with her hair in her face and her arms tumbled around her head like a rag doll. She was going to pretend she was unconscious and hope he didn't smell her wakefulness and pray morning would come quickly. If she could just make it to daylight, he'd change back to gruff, growly Jayne, and she wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. She hated being afraid of him. She'd just begun to get comfortable with him, and she hadn't felt comfortable with anyone in years. Not since her Sires stole her away from Simon.  


  
A puff of hot breath against her neck and the prick of something sharp at her collarbone made her stiffen. Before she could hope he hadn't noticed, she felt the sharp thing tug against the neck of her shift, parting the thin cotton like tissue paper under a razor blade. With a start she realized he was cutting her nightgown open with his claw. It dragged down her chest, between her breasts and over her belly, leaving a long welt on her sleek white skin. Her stomach fluttered with tension as he came to a stop at her lower belly. There was still a good six or seven inches of nightgown to go, but he didn't seem in a rush.  


  
When his hot tongue touched her stomach, she couldn't control the gasp that escaped past her lips.  


  
"Oh!" she exclaimed, and his answering growl let her know that she hadn't had him fooled one bit. That probably should have terrified her, but she was too distracted by the rough drag of his tongue as he moved upwards, laving in one long swipe from her belly to her throat along the welt his claw had left behind. Reflexively, her hands came up to rest on his shoulders, broad and bristly under her palms. She arched underneath him and heard him growl his approval.  


  
"Not hunger," she whimpered as his claw swiped downward, lazily shredding the remainder of her nightgown so that it was parted perfectly all down the middle. "Oh, not hunger, Puppy. You do not want to eat your River girl. Ohhhhh...," she moaned, as he lightly scored his claws over her stomach, brushing her dissected nightgown aside before leaning down to nuzzle her lower belly, growling possessively.  


  
To vampires, hunger and lust were two sides of the same coin. In her terror, River realized she'd been misinterpreting his smell. Jayne was hungry all right, but he wasn't hungry for _food_.  


  
He was sniffing her. She could feel him dragging his nose over her belly and down her thighs. Some vague corner of her brain was telling her that she should feel intimidated, having this massive creature looming over her while she was only wearing a pair of white panties; but she wasn't. After all, she'd been at his mercy for the past three weeks already, and more specifically for the past several hours. If he'd been intending to hurt her he would have done it already. Even when he hooked one pawlike hand under her knee and yanked her legs open so he could snuffle at her inner thighs, all she did was gasp.  


  
"Nobody else...!" she panted, pushing up on her palms and finally opening her eyes so she could gaze down her body at him. The remnants of her nightgown slid off her shoulders to pool around her wrists. "Nobody else, Puppy. All for you." Raising one tentative hand, she reached down until she could trail her fingers through his shaggy mane of hair. It still felt like Jayne-hair, not wolf bristles. Jayne-hair, but longer.  


  
He crooned, leaning into her touch, and River giggled. "Puppy likes being petted," she cooed, and gave him a tentative scratch behind the ear. His body shuddered and the growl that rippled up from his stomach was primal. It hit River, literally and figuratively, right between the legs.  


  
Her eyes went red. "Mine," she purred, running her tongue enticingly over her teeth. One razor sharp canine pricked her tongue and she moaned as a droplet of blood spread out over her tastebuds. It was three days old and tasted like Jayne. That was the last time she'd eaten, drinking shamefacedly from a vein in his forearm.  


  
There was no shame in her actions now, as she reached down to grab his powerful hand away from her knee, yanking it up her body. Bending it backwards, she bared her teeth and sank them into his wrist with a hiss.  


  
Jayne threw back his head and howled in a mixture of pain, anger and want. River barely heard him. His blood _burned_. It poured down her throat and boiled like magma in her belly; surely her stomach was glowing from the fire it lit inside her.  


  
Greedily wrapping her body around his powerful forearm, she sank her teeth deeper and sucked harder, feeling every nerve-ending explode in a flurry of sensation. She couldn't control her frantic moans, or the way her body rubbed wantonly against his, desperate for friction. They were both hungry now.  


  
Jayne's hand broke free of her hold and curled forward, squeezing the side of her face. Pulling back slightly, River took a gasping breath and tossed her hair to the side, baring the side of her neck to him before swooping in again and sinking her teeth back into his wrist. Jayne took the invitation, yanking her up so that her back was pressed along his front and her ass was cradled against the crook of his hips. She whimpered as she felt the hot, hard length of him nestled between her legs.  


  
His free hand spanned her stomach, holding her in place as he snarled in her ear and buried his face in her thick hair. She felt his jaws opening and closing, teeth snapping and scratching at the back of her neck. Her panties were soaked through as she wiggled and writhed in his lap, hugging his muscled thighs between her sleek ones.  


  
His jaws closed around the back of her neck and he bit down, hard.  


  
River pulled her mouth away from his wrist, crying out in pain. "PUPPY!" she shrieked.  


  
Jayne's answering growl rolled down her spine as he pressed her forward onto her hands and knees. River went without protest, limbs trembling as she flattened her palms against the dusty floor. When his teeth opened and he pulled back, she collapsed onto her belly, curling up into a protective ball and crying softly.  


  
Jayne's nose bumped against her shoulder, but she shrugged him away. "You... h-hurt your River," she sniffled, burying her hands in her hair and pulling it forward to hide her face. The back of her neck was throbbing. "She is not a wolf!" she sobbed.  


  
A few moments passed before she felt his large, lethal hand against the back of her head. She started to shrink away, but his touch was so gentle that she allowed her muscles to loosen a little. Moving carefully, as if he was afraid he'd break her, he began stroking his hand down the full length of her hair; long, rhythmic passes that made her body tingle.  


  
He was petting her.  


  
River giggled as the realization crystallized in her brain. "Oh, Puppy," she cooed, curling up again, but this time it was out of comfort rather than distress. "Now I know why you like to be petted."  


  
Her eyes were drooping. The warmth of his proximity, mixed with her full belly and his soothing touch, were all combining to make her drowsy. She yawned sleepily, smacking her lips and snuggling her cheek against her crossed arms. The throb in the back of her neck had settled down to a dull, constant ache, but his warm, calloused hands were a nice distraction.  


  
She felt his free arm snake underneath her waist, gently lifting her lower body so she was resting on her knees, bottom in the air. When she felt him tug her panties off one hip, she knew what he was doing.  


  
"Oh Puppy," she giggled dreamily, opening her eyes to gaze over her shoulder at him. His normally blue eyes were blindingly yellow, even in the dim moonlight. Silhouetted against the dark sky beyond the French doors, he looked more like a wolf than a man. She found she didn't mind.  


  
"Okay," she mumbled in acquiescence, smiling sleepily and wiggling her bottom for him. "But no biting, _dong ma?_ "  


  
He tore her panties off with a snarl and reared up on his knees, dragging his hand down her spine. River decided she was going to look like she'd been in a fight with a thorn bush come morning.  


  
Then he drove into her, and she stopped thinking entirely as a mix of blinding pleasure and excruciating pain poured through her body. It felt like she was being torn apart. Letting out a wail of pain, she pushed up onto her hands and knees. "HURTS!" she cried, twisting in his grasp. Tears streamed down her face. "Too big! PUPPY! Puppy, it HURTS!"  


  
Jayne's hand spasmodically squeezed her lower belly in a clumsy massaging action as she whimpered in distress. His coarse tongue lapped gently at her shoulder, and she tilted her head to the side so she could rub her cheek fervently against his hair. He raised his head to run his tongue up her cheek, licking away her salty tears. A soft laugh bubbled up from River's belly. "Tickles," she protested with a giggle, moaning as the laughter made the burn in her lower body even more intense.  


  
" _Riverrrr..._ "  


  
The voice was hoarse, more a growl than a word, but it was unmistakably her name. Feeling her eyes dilate, River let her head loll back against his shoulder, tilting it to the side so she could find his harsh yellow eyes. "Oh Puppy..." she breathed in awe. "So pretty..."  


  
He nosed along her jawline, nipping and licking lovingly. " _Riverrr._ " More decisive this time; more sure of itself.  


  
"Yes, Puppy," she murmured, blinking slowly. "Your River." She smiled dopily. "She is glad the name has many Rs. It suits your growly tongue."  


  
Taking his cue from her words, he sought out her mouth, running his tongue along the seam of her lips until she parted them, letting him inside. The scratch of his stubbly beard mixed with the dry, soft rub of his mouth was too much to process and she let herself fall into the taste of him. He tasted like venison and cold water.  


  
When he started thrusting again, fresh tears burned her eyes, but she ignored them and focused on his mouth. She knew it was probably killing him to go so slow, but she was glad he was making the effort. As a man, Jayne Cobb was just well-endowed. As a werewolf, he was indescribable. One of the things River had found so alluring about him from the start was how big he was compared to her; it made her feel safe, as though he were her own personal brick wall. She liked the way his body curled around her at night, when she'd steal into bed with him to keep warm and he'd end up enveloping her like a living, breathing cave.  


  
Jayne tore his mouth away from hers, moaning and pressing his forehead into her shoulder. His hands clutched at her thighs as her eyes fluttered open. The air in the room seemed a little less black and she realized it was much later than she thought. Or rather, much earlier.  


  
"River...!" he choked, and she felt his muscles shivering with protest.  


  
"Jayne...," she moaned, holding herself on one hand so she could raise the other to cup the back of his head. Like something out of a holovid, she could _feel_ his hair growing shorter, sliding through her fingers like backwards-growing grass. His muscles bunched and trembled; she felt his hands curling into fists against her thighs as the knuckles shrank and the claws sank back into nails.  


  
He let out a keening howl of pain, and River felt tears spring to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Puppy," she whispered. He still had his face buried in her shoulder, and she turned her head to nuzzle his temple and drop a shaky kiss on his cheek. "So, so sorry..."  


  
His arms dragged up from her thighs to wrap around her midsection, squeezing her in an iron grip until she could barely breathe. He settled back heavily on his haunches, dragging her with him, and the action sent his cock deeper into her body. River gasped, arching against his chest, but found that the pain wasn't as bad now. He fit more comfortably, and she realized she could take him deeper than before. Giving her hips a cautious roll, she felt an unexpected bolt of pleasure, and judging by his sharp inhalation, so did he.  


  
"Shhhh, Puppy," she murmured, rubbing his forearms as her head dropped back to rest on his shoulder. "No pain... Just your River. Feel your River? Feel your River..."  


  
Moaning, she began to rock her hips, feeling the smooth movement inside her like a rod of white hot metal. She knew she was slick with a mix of arousal and blood, but she was a vampire and he was a werewolf, so it was only fitting.  


  
Jayne wasn't moving, but she could tell from the moans and other sounds he was making that he was feeling this as much as she was. The pain was almost an aphrodisiac; it mixed and mingled with the whirls of pleasure that were chasing each other round and round her pelvis, until she couldn't tell one from the other. She wasn't sure she was ever going to feel anything else ever again, actually.  


  
One of his hands dropped away from her stomach to stroke her wet, stretched folds, and she gasped as his sweaty fingers slid over her clit. "Mine," he mumbled in her ear, clumsily pinching the tight nubbin. There was no question, just a statement of fact.  


  
"Yes...!" she exclaimed, twitching. "All yours...!"  


  
He stroked her again, lazily dragging his tongue up the side of her neck.  


  
She came. A garbled cry warbled past her lips as warmth pulsed through her lower body. "Ohhhhh," she groaned, slumping back against his chest. Then, "Ohhh!" a moment later as he twisted his hips and she felt him let go inside her.  


  
River would gladly have stayed like that for hours; her muscles were loose and she thought maybe she was floating. But Jayne, exhausted from both the sex and the strain of his transformation, slumped to the side, pulling her with him as he went. " _Ta ma de_...," he croaked into her hair.  


  
The sun rose. She watched as the room flooded with warm orange light. Jayne's body loomed behind her, acting as a barrier, and his shadow lanced over her like a black hole, protecting her from the daylight.  


  
River smiled dreamily. The back of her neck was throbbing, the ache between her thighs was intense, and her legs were cramping from spending so much time on her knees.  


  
She didn't care.  


  
"Thank you," she murmured happily, snuggling back against him.  


  
"Hmmm..."  


  
"You have made her warm and full and wanted," she continued, rubbing his hand where it rested on her stomach. "She will be a devoted mate."  


  
"Mmmm," he moaned in answer, curling forward so she was tucked comfortably under his body. "Mate..."  


  
River giggled, feeling his weight settle on top of her, pressing her belly into the floor. "Big boy, move," she teased. "You will crush your tiny lover."  


  
"Comf'ble."  


  
"I am small."  


  
"Yup."  


  
Rolling her eyes with a sigh, River wiggled around until she was in a more comfortable position. Then she wiggled some more. And a little more.  


  
"Quit shufflin'," Jayne complained irritably, swatting her hip.  


  
"This girl requires a bed," River protested. "It is not in the nature of a vampire to sleep on the floor."  


  
With a growl of frustration, Jayne swung an arm behind him. River waited patiently for him to finish whatever he was doing, drumming her fingers on the floor. A minute later his hand swung forward again and he stuffed something soft and white under her head. It was the bunched up remains of her nightgown.  


  
"Pillow," he muttered, settling himself over her again. "Shut up and sleep."  


  
River giggled. Reaching up, she yanked and tugged on his arm until she'd brought it down far enough to rest her head on his bicep, then curled her body around the makeshift pillow, keeping it tucked up against her belly.  


  
"Arm's gonna fall asleep," Jayne mumbled, half asleep himself.  


  
"Shhh, you love me," River shushed him, as if it were a foregone conclusion.  


  
When he didn't argue any more, she knew it was.  


  
  
  
  
  
_**EPILOGUE** _   


  
  
  
River didn't wake until well into the afternoon, and only then because the aches and pains in her body were too much to ignore anymore.  


  
Opening her eyes with a groan, she discovered their positions had shifted. The direct sunlight of early morning was gone, replaced with the safe, tame, ambient light of late afternoon. Instead of being wrapped safely in Jayne's shadow, she was on her side with her head was resting comfortably on his hip, her breasts pressed against his muscular stomach. Her arm was hooked over his torso to act like an anchor, and she figured Jayne must have set her up like this.  


  
Jayne, for his part, was on his side as well. He had her leg crooked up over his head and was gently stroking his tongue over her inner thigh.  


  
She moaned. "Jayne?"  


  
Dropping a kiss on her lower belly, he met her drowsy eyes with his own lazy gaze. "Afternoon, sleepyhead."  


  
Snuggling closer to him, she yawned. "Whatcha doing, Puppy?" she asked, idly rubbing her hand up and down his spine.  


  
"Cleanin' up our mess," he mumbled, face already tucked back between her legs.  


  
"Mmm..." River closed her eyes, smiling dreamily, and tilted her head to kiss his hip. He shifted his leg forward to give her back a bit more support.  


  
"How'd you get outta the closet?" he muttered, his voice vibrating against her skin.  


  
"Broke the door down," she murmured hazily. "Why did you lock her in?"  


  
"Didn't wanna get stupid and eat you."  


  
"Figured." She sighed, then giggled. "Didn't eat me," she teased, drawing circles on his back.  


  
"Not yet," he confirmed, growling playfully and worrying the back of her knee with his teeth.  


  
River squealed with delight, swatting at his arm. "Bad dog!"  


  
"Good wolf," he corrected, rubbing his scruffy cheek against her leg.  


  
River sighed happily, wrapping her arm tighter around his waist. Then she frowned. "Owee," she complained.  


  
"Hmm?"  


  
"Hurt."  


  
Jayne kissed her belly again and sat up slowly, rolling into a sitting position so her head was cradled in his lap. "I hurt ya bad?" he asked, brow furrowed in concern as he stroked her hair.  


  
River shrugged vaguely. "Time heals."  


  
"Don't care 'bout time. Right now yer hurtin' somethin' bad, ain't ya?"  


  
She gazed up at him. He looked so angry with himself. "Not your fault," she murmured.  


  
"Hell yes it is," he growled, fingers tightening in her hair. "Sorry, baby girl."  


  
A blissful smile suffused her face. "You have used a term of endearment!" she enthused. Reaching up, she patted his cheek. "Good job!"  


  
Jayne chuckled, his anger melting away as he grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "Yer still my crazy vampire girl," he reminded her.  


  
"Yes, but now she is your crazy vampire _baby_ girl. Progress!"  


  
He laughed again, fuller this time, and gathered her up in his arms, pulling her fully into his lap. River bit her lip to hold in the moan of pain that threatened to escape as he bent her at the midsection. "Sorry, baby girl," he apologized with a wince, obviously sensing her distress. "Gotta move you."  


  
"'Sokay," she mumbled, letting her cheek rest on his shoulder, glad she didn't have to move again anytime soon; even more glad that Jayne would be the one to move her.  


  
He rubbed her back soothingly for a minute, and River responded by doing the same to his belly. He needed comfort, too.  


  
"River girl?" he asked cautiously a short time later.  


  
"Yes, my Jayne?" It felt good to say that. She liked how it sounded on her lips. She giggled and said it again for fun. "My Jayne."  


  
"Yep, all yours," he agreed, kissing her nose with a smile. It quickly faded, however, replaced by a worried frown. "River girl, when I bit you..."  


  
"Yes?" She could still feel the angry red bite marks that throbbed in the back of her neck.  


  
"I mean... I'm a werewolf, baby doll."  


  
River beamed at him. "Baby doll," she cooed. "Two!" Kissing his cheek, she nuzzled his neck. "No worries, my lupine lover. Your bite is nothing more than a bite."  


  
"How can you be sure?"  


  
"The kiss of the werewolf is a disease of the blood." She raised her head to give him a sad smile. "No blood of her own," she reminded him with a shrug. "Only borrowed. Broken down and digested. Not part of the girl, but apart from." She kissed his chin. "Only one supernatural malady per person."  


  
He breathed out a heavy sigh. "Good," he said, rubbing her tailbone firmly. "Cuz frankly, baby girl, I wasn't likin' the idea of watchin' you turn all big and hairy every full moon."  


  
River giggled. "Big boy is lucky," she teased, pinching his nose. "A lover he can bite without consequence, and with no PMS!"  


  
Jayne laughed, giving her a gentle squeeze. "When'd you start callin' me _Big Boy?_ " he asked.  


  
"It is a term of endearment. It is apt."  


  
"Guess it is at that." Smirking, he dipped his head to kiss her throat. River obligingly arched her neck for him, wincing only slightly at the fresh ache this caused in the bite marks he'd left the night before.  


  
"Finally got me a girl," he murmured against her jawline. "Ma'd be proud. Only took me damn near forever."  


  
"No more lonely," River murmured, raising her head again to bury her nose in his short, soft hair. "No more lonely, my Jayne."  


  
She felt him smile against her neck before raising his head to peck her gently on the lips. "Come on," he murmured, hooking his arms around her and hitching her up as he stood.  


  
"Where are you taking your baby girl?" she asked, settling into his arms.  


  
"Gonna give you a bath," he said, nuzzling her long hair. "Then I'm gonna wait for the sun to go down so I can introduce you to my Ma."  


  
"She is here?"  


  
"Backyard. Furthest gravestone to the left, right next to Pa."  


  
River nodded against his shoulder as he carried her towards the makeshift washroom. It should have felt odd, being introduced to his dead parents. But she was a vampire and he was a werewolf, so it was only fitting.  


  
"You will brush and braid my hair," she told him firmly. "It would not do to meet your mother with tangles."  


  
  
  
  
  
 **THE END**


End file.
